Restrooms for Parades and Street Festivals in Baltimore

Placing units along a moving route

Units on a parade route stay off the marching lane and the kerb where the crowd stands, on side streets that the crowd can reach without crossing the route.

A parade crowd is three or four deep on each side of the route, and a unit set on the kerb will be surrounded before the parade starts. The side streets a block or two from the route hold the units better, and the crowd walks to them during the gaps between groups.

The marching lane is kept clear of any unit, cable or truck. The side street placement keeps the route clean and the restroom area clear of parade traffic.

Festival footprint and the edge of the crowd

Inside a street festival the units belong at the edge of the footprint, where the crowd can reach them from the walk and the truck can reach them from a service lane.

A festival footprint with stages, food and a central walk is busiest in the middle. Units placed there will be the first to become a queue, so the blocks sit at the edge and are connected to the walk by short side paths.

A service lane runs around the footprint so the truck does not need to cross the crowd. Where no service lane exists, the plan uses the closure time when the footprint is quiet to make the visit.

• Units at the edge, not the middle, of the footprint
• Side paths from the walk to each block
• A service lane around the footprint
• Visits in the quiet hour when possible

Timing the closure, the visits and the reopening

The closure window sets when the trucks can move, so the servicing visits and the close-out are timed to the window and the reopening time written on the plan.

A street closed for a parade is closed for a fixed period. The units have to be serviced inside that period or after it, and the truck's entry and exit points are part of the closure plan the city approves.

Reopening is the last step. The units are collected and the spot is checked before the street reopens, so the crew is not on the road when the traffic comes back.

Weather, timing and the decision to hold units back

A parade or street festival can be postponed or shortened, and the units are held back or moved when the plan changes, so the crew is never left with units on a route that is no longer closed.

An afternoon storm, a late start or a change in the route can reshape the day. The organiser calls the restroom crew, and the crew holds back any units not yet placed or moves those on the route to the new plan. A unit that stands on a route that has been cancelled is a traffic hazard.

Where the event is cancelled after units are placed, the units are collected on the same day, and the spot is cleared to the permit's terms.

Spectator stands and fixed viewing points

Spectators stand in fixed places along a parade for an hour or more, and the units near those points are the ones that need the closest count and the most frequent checks.

A viewing point with a grandstand, a sponsor tent or a rail draws a crowd that stays put. The units nearest those points carry the heaviest use and need a count set for the length of the parade, not for the time it passes the spot.

A unit placed behind a viewing point, out of the crowd's line of sight and off the marching route, is used more evenly and is easier for the crew to reach when a visit is due.

Clean-up on the reopened street

Once a street reopens the units are gone, and the crew's last job is to leave the kerb, the gutters and the tree pits as clean as they were before the parade.

Parade routes collect cups, flags and bags along the kerb, and the units leave a mark on the pavement where they stood. The crew sweeps the spot, checks the kerb for damage from the truck and leaves no bag or cone behind.

A street that reopens with litter on it is a complaint to the city and a problem for the next event on the same route. The check at close is the step that prevents it.